


Desolation

by Corovera



Series: 100 Themes one-shot challenge [40]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Colony 6, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-12 04:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1181836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corovera/pseuds/Corovera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>40/100. Memories lie in pieces around her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desolation

Deep down, she’d known not to expect much. She knew what the Mechon were capable of. She’d lived her whole life knowing. It was why they always had to fight back so hard. After all, this was the only home they had. 

She knew what it meant when that home had fallen. But still…she’d hoped that something was left. 

The moment they stepped through the gates, it became painfully clear that she’d set her hopes too high. 

The entire city was nothing but wreckage, strewn across the confines of the walls. Not a single building was left standing. The air was stagnant, still full of dust, and what remained of the roads was hidden by pieces of wood and concrete. 

The others just stood and stared. They were silent, because what could they say? 

Sharla stepped forward. It didn’t quite feel real, somehow. The Colony 6 in her head was a thriving city, albeit one that could never let its guard down. This desolate, silent place didn’t bear any resemblance to her home. If it hadn’t been in the same place, she could’ve mistaken it for somewhere else entirely. 

She kept walking, slowly and carefully. Debris cracked and snapped beneath her feet. Her eyes were fixed on the ground in front of her, making sure that each step was safe to take. The others hesitated, but eventually they followed behind her. 

After a minute or two of aimless wandering, familiar things began to stand out. That signpost was the one they’d installed last year, after the old one had fallen down during a rainstorm. Someone had scribbled on the back of the new one, and the writing was still visible under a thin layer of dirt. That small cart to the left was the one they’d used to sell ice cream in the summer. Now it was in pieces, splattered with blood and scattered across the remains of a flowerbed. The broken bench over there…that was the one she’d always liked to sit and read at. It was better than the one around the corner that always gave you splinters. 

Eventually, she stopped walking, and stared out at the ruined city. “It feels smaller without all the buildings in the way,” she said. “You can see all the walls at once.”

It was the first thing anyone had said since entering the colony. “Not like they did us any good,” she added. 

The other three came up behind her. “Would you prefer to be left alone?” asked Dunban. 

Sharla shook her head. “No, it’s alright. It’s just…strange.”

Shulk looked down at the wooden boards below them. “Was there a building here?” he asked. 

“I think this was a shop,” answered Sharla. 

She pointed to a large downed tree a few yards away. “There was a park over there,” she continued. “There were a lot of kids in the houses around here, so they’d all go play when they were done with school. That tree had lots of low branches, so it was easy to climb.”

She smiled slightly. “Juju got stuck in it once. I had to climb up after him and get him down myself.”

It was a while before anyone else spoke. “They really wrecked this place,” said Reyn, grimly. “You think it’ll be possible to rebuild it?”

“We’ve got no choice,” Sharla reminded him. “We can’t live in caves forever.”

She sighed. “But it’ll take a long time.”

“It won’t be the same, either,” added Shulk. 

He reached down and grabbed a piece of metal, turning it over in his hands. “We could probably reuse some of the materials, but that won’t cover everything. There’s a lot that’ll have to be built from scratch.”

Sharla took another look around the area. The more she saw, the more memories she’d find buried in this place. But memories couldn’t sustain the survivors. They needed something better than that. They needed _home_ , even if it wasn’t the one they remembered. 

“It won’t be the same,” she said, quietly. “But it’ll be ours.”


End file.
